St. Paul, MN –  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs presented the Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award to the Minnesota’s Veterans Application Tracking System (VATS), a joint project between the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) and Minnesota IT Services (MNIT). VATS transformed the way Veterans in Minnesota apply for and receive education benefits through the Minnesota GI Bill. Since July 2019, 2,600 Veterans have successfully used VATS.

On February 24, MDVA Commissioner Larry Herke accepted the award on behalf of the state from VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. The Pillar of Excellence Award recognizes outstanding programs that support Veterans.

"Receiving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Abraham Pillar of Excellence Award is a great honor," said Governor Tim Walz. "Those who raise their hand to serve our country exhibit extraordinary courage, discipline, and sacrifice, and they deserve the best from their state and nation when they return home. I am proud of our state's work to make Minnesota a leader in taking care of our Veterans."

MDVA ensures that Veterans have access to the range of earned benefits, including education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Through the Minnesota GI Bill, Veterans along with eligible spouses and children, have access to a maximum benefit of $10,000 to use for higher education, on-the-job training or apprenticeship programs, or to reimburse fees for licenses, certification or college admission exams.

“The VATS-Education module is an amazing example of how technology can be utilized to create better outcomes for Minnesotans, especially for our Veterans,” said Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Tarek Tomes. “Veterans are not only entitled to these education benefits, they are entitled to be able to access those benefits in the most efficient way possible.”

“MDVA understands the importance of the educational benefits granted by the Minnesota GI Bill in improving our Veteran’s lives, and therefore the health of our community,” states MDVA Commissioner Herke. “We are committed to informing Veterans of the many possibilities available to them.”

To better access earned education benefits, MNIT and MDVA developed the application tracking system. VATS streamlines the application process then shares and manages Veterans’ needs with stakeholders on Minnesota’s institutes of higher learning.

“Applying for the Minnesota GI Bill through the Veterans Application Tracking System has allowed me to not only pay for classes and books but also allows me to reduce how much I had to take out in student loans, which will not only benefit me while I'm in school but far into the future,” said Veteran Raymond Camper.

Veterans submit applications online while accessing a single database that houses information for all Minnesota education programs and services. With consolidated electronic case notes, a formerly weeks-long application process for reimbursement of tuition can be completed within a single day. VATS was developed with flexibility in mind, so the system can easily accommodate changes like adding a new benefit type, business policy or process, or making modifications to comply with legislative mandates.

VATS replaced multiple manual, paper-based processes, and an existing 15+ year old application that was expensive and difficult to support. With VATS-Education in place, there are now automated workflows for approvals, appeals and denials, and MDVA staff can access the system to make decisions on benefits from wherever they may be.

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About Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is a cabinet-level state agency dedicated to serving Minnesota Veterans and their families. In addition to overseeing the five State Veterans Homes, MDVA helps eligible Veterans and families secure state and federal benefits and provides programs and services relating to higher education, benefits, burial, claims, outreach and Veterans employment. Veterans and their families are encouraged to visit www.MinnesotaVeteran.org or call 1-(888)-LinkVet for more information about benefits. 

About Minnesota IT Services
Minnesota IT Services, led by the state’s Chief Information Officer, is the Information Technology agency for Minnesota’s executive branch, providing enterprise and local IT services to over 70 agencies, boards and commissions. MNIT employs more than 2,000 people across 90 physical locations. Together, we build, maintain, and secure the State’s IT infrastructure, applications, projects and services. MNIT sets IT strategy, direction, policies and standards for enterprise IT leadership and planning. We also serve Minnesotans by connecting all 87 counties, 300 cities, and 200 public higher education campuses across the state on the MNET network. Through public-private partnerships, our team proactively protects the state’s information systems and the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans.